Chapter 1171: Wearing A Sword (II)

Master Baibin could only try to calm him, “Uncle, don’t be angry. Fortunately, several Daoist Masters had already left their marks on Situ Mo. Daoist Master Chengyan, following the Grand Daoist Master’s order, instructed us to guard the lake while he personally tailed Situ Mo. In the end, it still drew him out.

“Besides, Daoist Master Chengyan said that Li Zhouwei is too dangerous. Many sects are even eager to fan the flames. If things go wrong, he will take action himself. Even facing retaliation, he intends to capture Li Zhouwei alive, but first, he wants to try a method that minimizes losses.”

“Situ Mo wasn’t bait for him! Do you know how many plans will fall apart now that Situ Mo is gone?” Master Yunan snapped back as he forced his anger down. The group gradually came to a halt over the lake.

Master Yunan gazed at the radiant pass towering amid the clouds in the distance. Its imposing presence made him grow solemn. After a careful glance at the young man, he shook his sleeve and said, “Bring the sword. Capturing him will be the same!”

The others advanced immediately. Just as Master Yunan began to form a hand seal, the youth raised his brows and looked up. A pair of golden pupils pierced straight through the air toward him. Master Yunan froze slightly, his fury turning into a growing sense of dread.

No wonder the Grand Daoist Master wants him captured...

Yet, facing the six who had suddenly surrounded him, Li Zhouwei said nothing, nor did he form any seals. His first move was simply to fasten the blue-white sword to the front of his armor in plain view.

Offended by such disregard, the six exchanged glances. Master Baibin had already drawn a small luminous ring from his sleeve that was no larger than a palm, and as thick as a finger. Holding it between two fingers, he glanced at the figure below, puzzled.

Strange...

There was no time to ponder. Every hour that passed meant greater uncertainty. The cultivator raised his spirit artifact, the glowing ring, and began chanting,

“Disperse the light, scatter the edge; darken the sun, let the stars fall; no flame shall rise, no qi shall aid...”

Before the chant was even done, Master Yunan charged forward with his men. The Daoist head gripped a slender sword, golden radiance rippling along its blade. He struck first without hesitation.

Li Zhouwei glanced at him, drew his halberd, and thrust forward with one arm. The weapon erupted in raging black flames, surging like a flood dragon from the depths. Master Yunan, having cultivated two years longer and seasoned by years in the outer-sea, met the halberd head-on.

Clang!

Master Yunan’s sword jerked upward uncontrollably from that single metallic crash. The dharma light of Geng Metal along its blade was devoured by the black flames and utterly wiped away. Li Zhouwei pressed his halberd forward as Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light burst from between his brows and streaked out like a flash.

The golden light of Heavenly Radiance swelled abruptly, empowered by Hidden Plunder Gold. It pierced through the distance, not toward Master Yunan, but toward Master Baibin casting spells farther away.

The light was blindingly fast. Master Baibin never expected Li Zhouwei, while fending off five others, to strike at him. Caught off guard, a halo of light flared around his body just in time to block the attack, but flames burst from it with a searing hiss.

Master Baibin’s chant faltered, causing his halo to flicker. The others, angered by such disdain, each raised their dharma artifacts. Li Zhouwei lifted his halberd, sweeping it across his chest to shatter two incoming spells. Two streaks of black halberd light then shot out, intercepting the enemies’ weapons.

The remaining Radiant Fire spell came swift and fierce, shaped like a small bird and tinged with a strange brownish hue. It seemed imbued with a powerful spiritual flame rather than an ordinary spell art. Before it even struck his back, sparks had already burst all around.

A small banner appeared behind Li Zhouwei, and five-colored Radiant Fire surged upward to meet the attack. But as the flames clashed, their color changed abruptly, and a sword leaped forth from within.

The sword burned with blazing Radiant Fire, its light flickering and its sword qi arcing like a rainbow; it was the art of sword control.

“Excellent spellwork, Brother Zhuang!”

The cultivator who cast the Radiant Fire was no ordinary figure; Master Yunan had chosen him precisely for his skill. Now he too drew his sword, unleashing the long-prepared spell. A wind of Radiant Essence surged forth, pressing hard on Li Zhouwei.

Yet Li Zhouwei remained calm and unhurried. The radiant pass behind him suddenly brightened, heavenly light slamming down to suppress the onrushing Radiant Fire dharma sword. His halberd flickered in a feint, then thrust backward toward a nearby cultivator.

He alone held off the five cultivators of Changxiao Gate, showing no sign of strain. He was fearless in the face of Master Yunan’s Radiant Essence wind. Sweeping his halberd across, he turned his face slightly as Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light flared between his brows and struck at the sword of the cultivator surnamed Zhuang.

Though interrupted earlier, Master Baibin was highly skilled. He completed his spell within a few breaths and tossed the luminous ring lightly into the air. It expanded rapidly to the size of a courtyard, thick as an embrace, and started releasing waves of spirit light that enveloped everything within its reach.

In that instant, the radiant pass behind Li Zhouwei dimmed. The flames in the Radiant Fire banner flickered unsteadily, and even the Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light between his brows shrank in brightness.

Only the black flames on his halberd still roared violently, unextinguished, pushing the descending spirit light back several paces.

A spirit artifact,

thought Li Zhouwei.

He braced his halberd, while Master Yunan’s Radiant Wind continued to spin along its shaft. His Bright Yang mana was being steadily repelled, and as attacks from both sides pressed in, he was forced a single step backward.

Master Yunan and the Cultivator Zhuang were both Purple Mansion Realm direct descendants. The other three were weaker, though two had reached the late Foundation Establishment Realm. Master Baibin was controlling the spirit artifact above from afar. Altogether, the Changxiao Gate’s formation clearly intended to completely pin Li Zhouwei down.

He stood unmoving as the Changxiao Gate cultivators spread out to encircle him. Overhead, Master Baibin maneuvered his spirit artifact, observing closely. Yet a shadow of doubt lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.

There’s still no order from the Daoist Master... how strange. Whether to kill or capture, there should at least be an order!

The northern wind whistled through the vast sky. Master Baibin grew distracted, raising his brows as a faint trace of cyan appeared far above, drifting northwest.

As a high-ranking cultivator of Changxiao Gate, he instantly recognized the cyan hue. It was the Treasured Cluster Spring Breeze of the Sword Sect, rising from the peak of Sword Mountain and flowing all the way to Lake Xian to merge with the daylight sea wind to nourish Jiangnan. A precious phenomenon, yet none dared harvest it within the Sword Sect’s territory.

Before merging with the sea breeze, the Treasured Cluster Spring Breeze passes through the Sword Sect’s lands... could this be its route? But why is it blowing all the way into Profound Peak Gate territory?

His expression stiffened. White light flared in his hand as he suddenly snatched someone from midair, a rogue cultivator who had been watching the fight. The man was caught off guard and nearly coughed blood in terror.

Master Baibin seized him by the throat and said coldly, “Whose territory is this? Wasn’t Profound Peak Gate swallowed by Ye... by the Capital Immortal Dao?”

The man, a local rogue cultivator, stammered in fright, “Esteemed Daoist, Profound Peak Gate no longer holds any lakeside territory! I heard that the area around Lake Xian was secretly returned to the Sword Sect. It’s long been their territory. Even Xuanmiao Temple hurried to hand over more land. From here all the way north, even half the lake’s surface belongs to the Sword Sect! My lord, they say that from here, if a sword cultivator looks up, he can even see the sword light atop the peak!”

These cultivators from Changxiao Gate had been in seclusion for years and had been summoned for this ambush scarcely a day or two after emerging. They knew only that the Profound Peak Gate had been absorbed by the Capital Immortal Dao. None had heard these new developments. A sudden shock rippled through their hearts.

So that’s it! No wonder... no wonder he walked straight into our trap of his own accord!